Razors consisting of one or more sharp metal blades in an enclosed housing with a handle are widely used for shaving, i.e., the removal of hair from the human body. Various soaps, creams, and gels are routinely used with a razor to soften the hair and help lubricate the skin. During shaving, bits of hair and other material build up in the vicinity of the blade and interfere with its ability to cut the hair. This problem is especially pronounced in razors having two parallel blades mounted in close proximity. The build-up of debris around the blade(s) is typically removed by rinsing the razor in water. However, rinsing alone is often inadequate to completely remove the debris. Several types of devices have been disclosed for more efficiently removing this type of material from razors.
One class of devices for cleaning razors are those which attach to a faucet and into which a razor is inserted. Examples of such devices are shown in d'Alaver de Costemore d'Arc, U.S. Pat. No. 4,480,387, issued Nov. 6, 1984, and Morgan, U.S. Pat. No. 4,941,492, issued Jul. 17, 1990. These devices have not achieved any significant commercial success due, in part, to their inability to work with all types of faucets and razors.
A second class of devices are razors or razor attachments which are connected to a faucet by a tube. Water from the faucet flows through the tube and out from the vicinity of the razor onto the surface being shaved. Such devices are shown in Galli, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,177,556, issued Dec. 11, 1979, and Whitaker et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,585, issued Jan. 6, 1987. These devices are cumbersome to use because of the tube connected to the faucet and are extremely messy because of the water flowing out of the razor.
A third class of devices are razors specifically designed to facilitate the flow of water past the blades for improved rinsing. Asano, U.S. Pat. No. 4,265,015, issued May 5, 1981, discloses a razor having a means for moving the blade back and forth which scrapes off the built-up material from the blade. Unfortunately, the moving parts themselves tend to become clogged with debris and, as a result, malfunction. Ferraro et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,535,537, issued Aug. 20, 1985, discloses a razor having channels in the head portion which permit the flow of water over the blades. The channels do not force the flow of water in a backwash direction, i.e., the water flow is not in the direction toward the leading edge of the blade. Knauer, German Pat. No. 2514-174, issued Oct. 14, 1976, discloses a razor having a channel running through the entire length of the handle. The base of the handle is pressed against the faucet to direct water through the channel and out over the blades. Unless a perfect seal is made against the faucet, water sprays out sideways at high velocity just as occurs when one attempts to stop the flow of water from a faucet with a finger.
Accordingly, a demand exists for an inexpensive, easy-to-use, and efficient self-cleaning razor.